Xhaka like Petit, claims Wenger

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Granit Xhaka is a similar player to Emmanuel Petit, according to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

Arsene Wenger has compared new signing Granit Xhaka to former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit.

Xhaka arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach during the close season for a reported fee of around £30milllion.

The Swiss international has featured in all three of Arsenal's Premier League matches so far and played the full 90 minutes in Saturday's 3-1 win at Watford.

And Wenger is delighted with Xhaka's early contribution.

"He is a guy who plays naturally behind the ball, a bit similar to Petit in the way he plays football," he said.

"He likes to sit, give good long balls and be available for the centre-backs. He has a good mixture of short and long balls, and in midfield it is important for us to sometimes stretch defenders.

"We have a game that is based on shorter passes than other teams, so sometimes you have a player who can kick the longer ball gives us a chance to get some oxygen and some space."

Discussing his pursuit of Xhaka, Wenger added: "We tried [to sign him] in December last year.

"He already has experience abroad and that is reassuring. He was captain at his young age at Monchengladbach, which is not a small club, so he has leadership qualities."